Match fixing: Delhi court sends bookie Sanjeev Chawla to 12-day police custody

New Delhi, Feb 13: A Delhi court Thursday (February 13) sent Sanjeev Chawla, an alleged bookie and key accused in one of cricket's biggest match-fixing scandals that involved former South African captain Hansie Cronje, to 12-day police custody.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sudhir Kumar Sirohi sent Chawla to 12-day custody after Delhi Police sought his 14-day custodial interrogation. The police told the court that Chawla, extradited from London on Thursday, was involved in fixing of five matches and has to be taken to various places and confronted with certain people in order to unearth the larger conspiracy.

Cronje, who died in a plane crash in 2002, was also involved, police told the court. Chawla is alleged to have played a central role in conspiring with Cronje to fix a South African tour to India in February-March 2000.

The British court documents say Chawla is a Delhi-born businessman who moved to the United Kingdom on a business visa in 1996 but continued to make trips to India.